PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It was the summer of 1994 and a 21-year-old LaTroy Hawkins was in Birmingham as a member of the Double-A Nashville Xpress. They were in town to play the Barons and their famous rookie. Hawkins, scheduled to start later in the day, was jogging along the side of the stadium when a Porsche sped by him.

"He was bumping 'Sweet Sadie' by R. Kelly," Hawkins, now 40, recalled in the Mets clubhouse on Sunday. "I was thinking, 'Dang, it got to be Jordan. I know ain't nobody else driving a Porsche.'"

The scenario repeated itself the next morning so Hawkins turned around and went to the parking lot to greet Michael Jordan, his childhood idol. Hawkins asked the former Chicago Bulls star for his autograph. Jordan said no.

"I was like, 'That's all right, my mom wanted it,'" said Hawkins, who grew up idolizing Jordan 30 miles southeast of Chicago in Gary, Ind. "Then he said, 'Nah, I'm just joking, I'm just joking.' He ended up being cool as [crap]. I mean, really cool."

Arguably considered the greatest basketball of all time, Jordan, who turned 50 on Sunday, shocked the world when he retired from basketball at the peak of his stardom after three consecutive championships. He added more intrigue when he decided to pursue a career in baseball after not having played since high school. His foray into the sport didn't last long – and neither did his retirement.

That summer was Jordan's lone professional baseball season. An outfielder, he posted a .202/.289/.266 slash line in 127 games as a 31-year-old rookie for the White Sox's Double-A affiliate. His on-base plus slugging percentage (.556) was paltry. He hit three home runs and stole 30 bases in 48 attempts.

Hawkins spent just two months with the Xpress, but estimates his team faced the Barons 15 times during his stint. Each time the stands were at full capacity, an electricity circulating through the stadium unlike any other at the Double-A level.

"He made the Nashville franchise that year a lot of money," Hawkins said with a smile. "I know that much."

Hawkins made 11 starts and posted a 2.33 ERA in his brief time with Nashville. He recalled striking Jordan out twice. He also allowed a single, but then picked Jordan off at first.

"I told him, 'My mother told me to let you get a hit,'" said Hawkins, likely the only active pitcher remaining to have faced Jordan. "And he was like, 'Tell your momma I love her.'"

Hawkins said he and Jordan would often chat before games, and believes if Jordan had stuck with it, a solid professional baseball career was possible.

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"He was just that good of an athlete," Hawkins said. "Just watching him over as many games as I did against him, I saw him get better. He started in Double-A. That's tough. He probably would've dominated rookie ball and A-ball. In high-A ball he would've been pretty damn good. But he started in Double-A and it wasn't an easy place to start."

Hawkins grew up fanatically following Jordan. Since jerseys with the number 23 were often too small for him, he flipped the digits and wore 32 growing up, both in basketball and baseball. In 2008, Hawkins was in New York to undergo a physical after signing with the Yankees when he ran into Jordan.